A PERSONAL APPEAL FROM THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES A Nepalese boy from the marginalised Dalit community rests next to his grandfather. Disadvantaged communities in Nepal have often faced multiple obstacles to citizenship and the exercise of associated rights. For many people around the world, statelessness begins at birth, often because the parents themselves are stateless. The 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is designed to ensure that every child can acquire a nationality and that statelessness is not transmitted from one generation to another. G. CONSTANTINE Millions of people around the world are stateless. This is a matter of grave concern. The Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is an important tool for tackling the problem. Many States already have legislation that is compliant with the provisions of the Convention and implementing it costs very little. Yet few States are parties to this instrument. We need to change that. I pledge the full support of my Office to governments wishing to become parties. Cover : I would like more information about: UNHCR and its work on statelessness Visit UNHCR’s statelessness website at www.unhcr.org/statelessness. You can also consult relevant Conclusions on International Protection of UNHCR’s Executive Committee, in particular Conclusion 106 on Identification, Prevention and Reduction of Statelessness and Protection of Stateless Persons (2006). International law relating to the prevention and reduction of statelessness, including the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness For a more detailed discussion of the 1961 Convention as well as other international norms relating to the protection of stateless persons, see Nationality and Statelessness: A Handbook for Parliamentarians (UNHCR and Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2005, revised second edition forthcoming in 2014) and UNHCR Guidelines on Statelessness on Ensuring Every Child’s Right to Acquire a Nationality through Articles 1-4 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. To access these and other relevant international documents on statelessness, visit UNHCR’s Refworld website at http://www.refworld.org/statelessness.html António Guterres Published by: UNHCR P.O. Box 2500 1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland UNHCR, January 2014